"The Eternal Father commands that you stop these murders at once! You will not destroy the lives of the unborn. Human life is sacred in the eyes of your God. No man has the right to destroy a life. The Father, He sends this life to you, and only He will decide when it will return back to the Kingdom.
     "Do not, My children, be deceived by the words of the evil ones about you who cry to you of no space left for man. There is space, for My Father has a plan for every life He sends." - Our Lady of the Roses, August 5, 1971  

LifeSiteNews.com reported on October 2, 2008:

Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City, Mo. has issued a pastoral warning to his flock that the proposed Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) would "immediately make null and void every current restriction on abortion in all jurisdictions." The federal legislation, introduced in April 2007, would, the bishop warns, "unleash - on a national level - a complete and unrestricted access to abortion."

A leading US pro-abortion organisation agrees with the bishop's assessment. The National Organization of Women (NOW) said that FOCA "would sweep away hundreds of anti-abortion laws, policies." Planned Parenthood also agreed, saying, "The legislation (FOCA) would invalidate existing and future laws that interfere with or discriminate against the exercise of the [abortion] rights protected. It also would provide an individual aggrieved by a violation of the act a private right of civil action in order to obtain appropriate relief."

When Senator BO addressed a Planned Parenthood event on July 17, 2007, he said, "The first thing I will do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act."

Bishop Finn, while not mentioning Senator BO's name, wrote, "When a candidate ...  promises to promote - or to 'sign immediately upon taking office' - the Freedom of Choice Act, Catholics and all people of good will have cause to question the sincerity of the candidate's determination to reduce abortions." Bishop Finn noted that the abortion rate has been falling amongst teens, suggesting that this is due to "these already existing limits" that "have caused a decrease of more than 100,000 abortions each year."

FOCA would eliminate conscience protection for physicians, he said, and would require states to fund abortions.

The bill reads, "A government may not (1) deny or interfere with a woman's right to choose - (A) to bear a child; (B) to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability; or (C) to terminate a pregnancy after viability where termination is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman; or (2) discriminate against the exercise of the rights set forth in paragraph (1) in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information.

"This act applies to every Federal, State, and local statute, ordinance, regulation, administrative order, decision, penalty, practice, or other action enacted, adopted, or implemented before or after the date of enactment of this act."

FOCA at a stroke would reverse many of the gains won by the pro-life movement in the US in the last twenty years. It would overturn state abortion reporting requirements in all 50 states; forty-four states' laws concerning parental involvement; forty states' laws on restricting later-term abortions; forty-six states' conscience protection laws for individual health care providers; twenty-seven states' conscience protection laws for institutions; thirty-eight states' bans on partial-birth abortions; thirty-three states' laws on requiring counselling before an abortion; and sixteen states' laws concerning ultrasounds before an abortion.

Bishop Finn said that while it may be permissible to vote for a candidate "in spite of" his support for abortion, "it seems we are morally obliged to establish a proportionate reason sufficient to justify the destruction of 45 million human persons through abortion."

If a candidate, however, "pledges - through an instrument such as FOCA - to eliminate all existing limitations against abortion, it is that much more doubtful whether voting for him or her can ever be morally justified under any circumstance," Bishop Finn concluded.

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Cardinal Rigali urges opposition to "Freedom of Choice Act" during Respect Life month...

"The Eternal Father commands that you stop these murders at once! You will not destroy the lives of the unborn. Human life is sacred in the eyes of your God. No man has the right to destroy a life. The Father, He sends this life to you, and only He will decide when it will return back to the Kingdom.
     "Do not, My children, be deceived by the words of the evil ones about you who cry to you of no space left for man. There is space, for My Father has a plan for every life He sends." - Our Lady of the Roses, August 5, 1971  

LifeSiteNews.com reported on October 2, 2008:

Head of Knights of Columbus joins Catholic leaders rebuking "Catholic" Biden for abortion comments...

"Your country has set itself onto the road to destruction, for they—your leaders have not taken action against the murderers set loose in your society. The murders of the young, the innocent unborn, have not gone by uncounted by the Eternal Father. Measure for measure shall you be given the reward of your—"
Veronica - Oh, as Our Lady is pointing now up, I see—oh, my goodness! Oh! Oh, my! I see that—I know it's a comet. It, it's a round ball of fire, and it's traveling at a very fast pace through the sky. And it's so hot! I can feel the heat, the great heat of this long tail. As it's going through space, it's shooting out a tremendous fiery tail. Oh!
Our Lady - "I repeat, My child, your country shall not escape the destruction of the fires, as you will be planet struck.
     "As in the days of Noe, My child, many shall reject the Message from Heaven.
     "We do not send you a message of fear, but a message of fact. Repent; make atonement now while you have the time, for the hour of reckoning is coming. It is at hand, My child.” – July 25, 1975  

LifeSiteNews.com reported on September 19, 2008:

Yet another Catholic leader has publicly chastised Sen. Joseph Biden for his false statements about the Catholic Church's teaching on abortion. This time it is the head of the Knights of Columbus, who in a statement urged Biden to make good on his claims as a practicing Catholic and work to protect unborn life.

Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson published an open letter to Biden on Friday, on behalf of the 1.28 million members of the Knights of Columbus and their families, which will appear in USA Today and several other newspapers.  Anderson wrote the letter in response to Biden's recent statements on NBC's "Meet the Press" claiming that, because of past confusion in the Church over when life begins, Biden can support abortion without violating his conscience as a Catholic.

But Anderson says this is patently false.  "The bishops who have taken public issue with your remarks on the Church's historical position on abortion are far from alone," wrote Anderson.  He emphasized Biden's duty as a Catholic to avoid giving public scandal by representing the Church poorly: "Senator BO stressed your Catholic identity repeatedly when he introduced you as his running mate, and so your statements carry considerable weight, whether they are correct or not. You now have a unique responsibility when you make public statements about Catholic teaching."

Anderson criticized Biden's citing Thomas Aquinas in order to question the consistency of Church teaching on abortion. 

"First, Aquinas obviously had only a medieval understanding of biology, and thus could only speculate about how an unborn child develops in the womb. I doubt that there is any other area of public policy where you would appeal to a 13th Century knowledge of biology as the basis for modern law.

"Second, Aquinas' theological view is in any case entirely consistent with the long history of Catholic Church teaching in this area, holding that abortion is a grave sin to be avoided at any time during pregnancy."  Anderson then cites the long history of the Church's condemnation of abortion in any stage of pregnancy, starting with the 2nd-century Didache and continuing until modern times. 

"It [condemnation of abortion] is found in the writings of Tertullian, Jerome, Augustine and Aquinas, and was reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council, which described abortion as 'an unspeakable crime' and held that the right to life must be protected from the 'moment of conception.'"

Anderson emphasized that "modern medical science leaves no doubt about the fact that each person's life begins at conception," and this fact cannot be considered a matter of religious belief.

Also, Anderson pointed out the irony of the fact that Biden's running mate, BO, as the first black American presidential nominee, "owes an incalculable debt" to people who were motivated by their religious beliefs to confront the evils of slavery and discrimination.  He cited the words of Abraham Lincoln, who said "those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves."

The letter continues, "Lincoln fought slavery in the name of 'a just God' without embarrassment or apology.

"He confronted an America in which black Americans were not considered 'persons' under the law, and were thus not entitled to fundamental Constitutional rights. Today, children of all races who are fully viable and only minutes from being born are also denied recognition as 'persons' because of the Roe v. Wade regime that you so strongly support. Lincoln's reasoning regarding slavery applies with equal force to children who are minutes, hours or days away from birth.

"The founders believed that we are 'endowed by [our] Creator with certain unalienable rights,' and that first among these is 'life.'

"You have a choice: you can listen to your conscience and work to secure the rights of the unborn to share in the fruits of our hard-won liberty, or you can choose to turn your back on them," Anderson concluded.

See the full text of the letter here: http://www.kofc.org/un/cmf/resources/SK_20080919.pdf
 

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14 Bishops and counting correct Senator Biden...

LifeSiteNews.com reported on September 15, 2008:

Catholic bishops across the nation have rebuked Senator Joe Biden for claiming, during a September 7 appearance on NBC's Meet the Press, that his support for abortion is in keeping with his Catholic faith.

To date at least 14 bishops have responded to Biden's erroneous statement about Catholic teaching and abortion.

Responding to a question from Meet the Press Moderator Tom Brokaw, Biden stated that he agreed with the Catholic Church that life begins at conception. He then continued, "I'm prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception. But that is my judgment. For me to impose that judgment on everyone else who is equally and maybe even more devout than I am seems to me is inappropriate in a pluralistic society."

Biden also later appeared to contradict himself, saying throughout Church history there has been "debate" on when life begins, implying that life may not begin at conception after all.

However, as many bishops have pointed out already - especially in light of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's similar misstatement of Church teaching on the same television show several weeks prior - paragraph 2270-71 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church explicitly states that the Church has always taught that life must be respected from conception and that abortion at any stage is a grave evil. Furthermore, the Church has also repeatedly said that the state must protect life from conception to natural death in its laws.

Responding to Biden's statement that it would not be right to "impose" his views about when life begins on others, Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa said, "It is plainly false to assert that the answer to the question of when human life begins is limited to the realm of personal and private faith and that therefore there is no basis for preferring one position over another."

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver also addressed this remark. "Resistance to abortion is a matter of human rights, not religious opinion," he said. "And the senator knows very well as a lawmaker that all law involves the imposition of some people's convictions on everyone else.  That is the nature of the law. American Catholics have allowed themselves to be bullied into accepting the destruction of more than a million developing unborn children a year.  Other people have imposed their 'pro-choice' beliefs on American society without any remorse for decades."

For more commentary from the bishops see: http://www.americanpapist.com/2008/09/updated-9-10-bishops-h...

Here is American Papist's updated list of bishops who have responded to Sen. Joe Biden (in somewhat chronological order):

   1. Bishop Joseph Martino of Scranton
   2. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, CO
   3. Bishop James Conley, his auxiliary
   4. Bishop Robeert Morlino of Madison
   5. Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, DC
   6. Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa, OK
   7. Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, PA
   8. Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, CT
   9. Bishop Fran Malooly of Wilmington, DL
  10. Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo, ND
  11. Bishop Gregory Aymond of Austin, TX
  12. Bishop R. Walker Nickless of Sioux City, IA
  13. Bishop Paul Coakley of Salina, KS
  14. Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston, MA
 

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And again: Now bishops correct Biden's false statements about Catholic teaching on abortion...

LifeSiteNews.com reported on September 9, 2008:

Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison, Wisconsin, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput and Auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley of Denver have reacted to Senator Joseph Biden's remarks on NBC's Meet The Press, criticizing him for confusing the differences between faith and natural law and for flawed moral reasoning.

In a Sunday interview on Meet the Press, Senator Biden said that he is "prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception" but would not impose that faith on anyone through law. He claimed that to do so would be "inappropriate in a pluralistic society."

After watching Biden's appearance on Meet the Press, Bishop Morlino at the last minute set aside his prepared homily on Sunday and instead addressed the Senator and Speaker Nancy Pelosi's fallacious remarks about Church teaching on abortion.

Senator Biden, noted the Bishop, doesn't understand the difference between "religious faith and natural law."

"Any human being, regardless of his faith, his religious practice or having no faith, any human being can reason to the fact that human life from conception unto natural death is sacred," Bishop Morlino argued. "Biology, not faith, not philosophy, not any kind of theology - Biology tells us, science [says], that at the moment of conception there exists a unique individual of the human species."

"It's not a matter of what I might believe. What my faith might teach me," he said. "Sen. Biden has an obligation to know that. And he doesn't know it."

Bishop Morlino then criticized politicians for confusing the Catholic faithful by making false, inaccurate or misleading public statements.

"They're supposed to believe in separation of church and state. They're violating the separation of church and state by confusing people about what I have an obligation to teach," he charged.

"Prominent Catholics should not be violating the separation of church and state" by "teaching the wrong thing", but Pelosi and Biden, in their lack of knowledge and understanding, were "doing precisely that," the Bishop said.

"They themselves were confused after the Council and I don't blame them for that. Bishops allowed it, theologians did it, some priests did it, and in Canada even some bishops did it."

Bishop Morlino concluded by encouraging his listeners to make sure they themselves really understood what the Catholic faith teaches, through the Pope and the bishops, and to offer correction to those who were confused or in error "with love," because otherwise "we will be lost too."

Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput and Denver's auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley issued a letter to the faithful yesterday, titled "Public Servants and Moral Reasoning: A notice to the Catholic community in northern Colorado", addressing Senator Biden's comments.

"When Catholics serve on the national stage, their actions and words impact the faith of Catholics around the country. As a result, they open themselves to legitimate scrutiny by local Catholics and local bishops on matters of Catholic belief," the letter begins.

Referring to Senator Biden's statement that when life begins is a "personal and private issue," the bishops stated that "in reality, modern biology knows exactly when human life begins: at the moment of conception.  Religion has nothing to do with it."

"Abortion is a foundational issue; it is not an issue like housing policy or the price of foreign oil. It always involves the intentional killing of an innocent life, and it is always, grievously wrong," the Bishops wrote.

"If, as Senator Biden said, 'I'm prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception,' then he is not merely wrong about the science of new life; he also fails to defend the innocent life he already knows is there."

The Bishops' letter mentions Biden's statement to Tom Brokaw on Meet The Press that he has opposed taxpayer funding for abortions: "I don't support public, public funding. I don't, because that flips the burden. That's then telling me I have to accept a different view," he said in the interview.

A look at his voting record however reveals the opposite.

Earlier this year Biden voted against an amendment sponsored by Sen. David Vitter that would permanently prevent abortion funding with federal Indian Health Service (IHS) funds at Indian health care service facilities. (See Planned Parenthood Targets Native Americans with Abortion: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jun/08060903.html).

Biden voted against the Mexico City Policy, an initiative to prohibit taxpayer funding of groups that promote or perform abortions overseas, in April 2005.

In 2003, Biden voted to repeal the law that prohibits performance of abortions of military base hospitals, which are taxpayer funded.

The Bishops' letter also pointed out Biden's "strong support for the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade and the false 'right' to abortion it enshrines," and emphasized that this "can't be excused by any serious Catholic."

The Bishops concluded the letter saying that "resistance to abortion is a matter of human rights, not religious opinion," and that a failure to defend innocent life means that "all of us - from senators and members of Congress, to Catholic laypeople in the pews - fail not only as believers and disciples, but also as citizens."

Link to Bishop Morlino's homily (audio) is available here: http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/search?q=Morlino

Denver Bishops' letter is available here:
http://www.archden.org/repository//Documents/ArchbishopChapu...

Senator Biden's voting record on abortion issues is available here: http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=53279&am...
 

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After saying that Catholicism says that life begins at conception, Biden went on to say that there was "debate" in the Church about when life begins

Pelosi, and now Biden: VP-nominee says life begins at conception, but won't "impose" his Faith on others...

LifeSiteNews.com reported on September 8, 2008:

Senator Joseph Biden, the Democratic nominee for vice president, strayed from party ideology on abortion rights yesterday, declaring that as a Catholic, he believes life begins at conception, but then went on to say he would not "impose" his personal views on others. Later in the interview he also seemed to suggest that life may not begin at conception after all.

Tom Brokaw of NBC's Meet The Press asked, "As a Roman Catholic, when does life begin?"

Biden replied, "I'd say, look, I know when it begins for me. It's a personal and private issue. For me, as a Roman Catholic, I'm prepared to accept the teachings of my church." Biden then added, "I'm prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception. But that is my judgment. For me to impose that judgment on everyone else who is equally and maybe even more devout than I am seems to me is inappropriate in a pluralistic society."

Brokaw challenged Biden further: "But if you, you believe that life begins at conception, and you've also voted for abortion rights..."

Biden responded that he believed he did not vote for abortion, but simply against removing the "right" to abortion.

"No," he said, "what I voted against, curtailing the right, criminalizing abortion. I voted against telling everyone else in the country that they have to accept my religiously based view that it's a moment of conception."

Moments later, however, Biden appeared to contradict himself by indicating that there is "doubt" on the same Church teaching he had just said he believed - that life begins at conception. "There is a debate in our church, as Cardinal Egan would acknowledge, that's existed," he said. "Back in Summa Theologia, when Thomas Aquinas wrote Summa Theologia, he said there was no - it didn't occur until quickening, 40 days after conception."

The "it" referred to by Biden, is the question of when the human soul is infused into the fetus. Some ancient and medieval Christian philosophers speculated, prior to the advent of modern embryology, that the human soul may not have been infused into the embryo until some time into gestation. These same philosophers, however, also unanimously condemned abortion.

In invoking a medieval philosopher to justify his support for abortion, Biden followed the same route as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who only recently, on the same show, invoked St. Augustine to support her abortion stance.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops in their recently published fact sheet on the issue, meant as a response to Pelosi's erroneous statements, directly challenged "those who say this (Catholic) teaching (on abortion) has changed or is of recent origin."

The document quoted the Catechism of the Catholic Church which states, "Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law" (No. 2271).

The fact sheet explains the church's consistent teaching on abortion as an intrinsically evil act that can never be morally right, and provides scientific evidence that "conception produces a new living being" and that "this individual is, at the outset, distinctively human, with the inherent and active potential to mature into a human fetus, infant, child and adult."

"Given the scientific fact that a human life begins at conception, the only moral norm needed to understand the Church's opposition to abortion is the principle that each and every human life has inherent dignity, and thus must be treated with the respect due to a human person," the document concludes.

More than two dozen bishops (http://www.americanpapist.com/2008/08/listed-american-bishop...) and 19 congressmen have already condemned Nancy Pelosi's "pro-abortion Catholic" political posturing.

The text of "Respect for Unborn Human Life: The Church's Constant Teaching" is available here:
http://www.usccb.org/prolife/constantchurchteaching.shtml

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Cardinals, Bishops and Congressmen Slam Pelosi on Abortion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08082601.html

Two More Bishops and 19 Congressmen Slam Pelosi Arguments on Abortion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08082909.html

Tulsa Bishop Makes Ten Correcting Pelosi's Abortion Statements
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08090208.html

Pelosi's Theologizing on Abortion is a Repeat of Biden's Own Quotes on Meet the Press
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08082709.html

Pelosi Spokeswoman About-face: Catholic Church "Clear" on Life Teaching After All - But Catholics Need Not Listen
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08082706.html

USCCB Delivers One Last Blow to "Catholic" Pelosi on Abortion Remarks
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08090305.html

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"No Catholic politician who supports the culture of death should approach Holy Communion," said Bishop Martino, who added, "I will be truly vigilant on this point."

Scranton Bishop says he will refuse Holy Communion to Joseph Biden...

"When a man has stepped over the threshold and allowed himself to fall into mortal sin, he must be purified by trial, but he must also, My children, be purified by the rule of penance and confession. 
     "What manner of evil is being set now upon mankind that compels him to lose his soul by rejecting the Sacraments, by no longer confessing to his confessor, but coming to receive My Son in sacrifice, while his soul is degraded by sin of mortal nature!" - Our Lady of the Roses, September 7, 1976 

LifeSiteNews.com reported on September 2, 2008:

The Catholic bishop of Scranton, Pennsylvania, has confirmed that pro-abortion vice presidential candidate Joseph Biden would be refused Holy Communion in his diocese, according to the Scranton Times.

The Times reports that "when asked whether the Democratic vice presidential candidate would be refused Communion should he tour the region, the diocese held firm" to a statement made by Bishop Joseph F. Martino in 2005 declaring that he would not "tolerate any politician who claims to be a faithful Catholic who is not genuinely pro-life" receiving Holy Communion.

"No Catholic politician who supports the culture of death should approach Holy Communion," said Bishop Martino, who added, "I will be truly vigilant on this point."

The Bishop's firm defense of Eucharist, which Catholics believe is the actual body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, is reflected by the Pope and Vatican officials, who have repeatedly stated that persistently pro-abortion politicians cannot receive Communion.

Canon law 915 states that those who "obstinately persist in manifest grave sin, are not to be admitted to holy communion".

Although Biden's own bishop has not enforced the church's law regarding Biden, he recently stated that the Democratic vice-presidential candidate would not be permitted to speak in any diocesan facility.  He has also "asked" pro-abortion politicians not to present themselves for Holy Communion, but has stated his unwillingness to so far enforce this request.

"It is not my expectation that individual priests, deacons and extraordinary ministers of communion will make judgments on their own as to the worthiness of individual Catholic public servants to receive communion," Bishop Michael Saltarelli wrote in a newspaper column in 2004. "That is ultimately my responsibility in light of Catholic moral theology and the Code of Canon Law. At this stage, I much prefer the active engagement and dialogue called for by Catholics in Public Life."

According to NBC, Biden was seen last Sunday at St. Joseph of the Brandywine parish, where he was given Holy Communion by Monsignor Joseph Rebman.  Rebman told NBC that the bishop and various priests have spoken to Biden about his pro-abortion stance, but none had ever denied him communion.

Delaware Senator Joseph Biden has consistently cast pro-abortion votes since the 1980s, when he and other Catholic Democrats abandoned their pro-life positions as the party's pro-abortion position solidified.

Biden normally receives a 100% approval rating from the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), which recently issued a statement confirming that "Sen. Biden has consistently expressed support for a woman's right to choose (abortion). While we have not agreed with him on every vote, we have a longstanding relationship with Sen. Biden that is open, positive, and constructive."

Bishop Martino's willingness to enforce Church law is shared by other bishops in the USA and Canada, including Bishop Fred Henry of Alberta, Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, Paterson, New Jersey Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli, Birmingham Bishop Robert J. Baker, Atlanta Archbishop John F. Donoghue, Charlotte Bishop Peter J. Jugis and former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke who has just taken up the position of Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the highest judicial authority of the Catholic Church besides the Pope himself.

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Head of Vatican's highest court: Ministers have "obligation to deny" Communion to pro-abortion politicians...

LifeSiteNews.com reported on August 19, 2008:

The head of the highest court in the Vatican has given an interview with a Roman magazine in which he notes that when dealing with pro-abortion Catholic politicians, "the minister of the Eucharist has the obligation to deny It (Communion) to him."

Last month, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Raymond Burke, formerly the Archbishop of St. Louis, as the Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, which is the highest judicial authority of the Catholic Church besides the Pope himself.  In an interview published in the current edition of the Italian magazine Radici Cristiane, Archbishop Burke addresses the issue which has caused great controversy among the hierarchy in the West.

In the interview, parts of which were translated by Catholic News Agency, the Archbishop noted first that pro-abortion Catholic politicians should be publicly corrected and told not to receive: and, if they persist, they should be denied.   He spoke of dealing with "public officials" who contravene Divine and Eternal law such as "if they support abortion, which entails the taking of innocent and defenseless human lives." 

"A person who commits sin in this way should be publicly admonished in such a way as to not receive Communion until he or she has reformed his life," the archbishop said.  "If a person who has been admonished persists in public mortal sin and attempts to receive Communion, the minister of the Eucharist has the obligation to deny it to him. Why? Above all, for the salvation of that person, preventing him from committing a sacrilege," he added.

The Archbishop explained that the Church does this "not with the intention of interfering in public life but rather in the spiritual state of the politician or public official who, if Catholic, should follow the divine law in the public sphere as well," reported Catholic News Agency.

"We must avoid giving people the impression that one can be in a state of mortal sin and receive the Eucharist," the archbishop continued.  "Secondly, there could be another form of scandal, consisting of leading people to think that the public act that this person is doing, which until now everyone believed was a serious sin, is really not that serious - if the Church allows him or her to receive Communion."

"If we have a public figure who is openly and deliberately upholding abortion rights and receiving the Eucharist, what will the average person think? He or she could come to believe that it up to a certain point it is okay to do away with an innocent life in the mother's womb," he warned.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Abortion-Politician-Communion Scandal Shows Real Lack of Pastoral Concern
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/may/08052102.html

Can Catholics Who Vote for BO Still Receive Communion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jun/08061208.html

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Pro-abort politicians "must" be refused Communion: Philippines Archbishop...

"When a man has stepped over the threshold and allowed himself to fall into mortal sin, he must be purified by trial, but he must also, My children, be purified by the rule of penance and confession. 
     "What manner of evil is being set now upon mankind that compels him to lose his soul by rejecting the Sacraments, by no longer confessing to his confessor, but coming to receive My Son in sacrifice, while his soul is degraded by sin of mortal nature!" - Our Lady of the Roses, September 7, 1976 

LifeSiteNews.com reported on July 14, 2008:

The mainstream media has picked up on comments by Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast regarding reception of Holy Communion for pro-abortion politicians.  However, one part of the discussion which has received little discussion is the reason why the Church would deny politicians reception of Communion.

"The Code of Canon Law says in #915 that 'those whom the penalty of excommunication or interdict has been imposed or declared, and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin," explains the religious leader of Canada's national capital,"are not to be admitted to Holy Communion'." 

"What is at issue is whether a politician who does not himself or herself participate in an abortion but supports 'a woman's right to choose' (or however else shows support for abortion) is guilty of grave sin and then obstinately persists in this state of grave sin."

Archbishop Prendergast stresses that denying Holy Communion is undertaken out of concern for the offending Catholic (politician in the case at hand).  "The Church's concern is for anyone who persists in grave sin, hoping that medicinal measures (which is how excommunication and interdict are to be understood) may draw them away from the wrong path to the truth of our faith."

The Ottawa prelate points out how Christians from the beginning were told of the need to be in good standing with the faith before receiving Communion.  "(St.) Paul said that before receiving communion a Christian should take part in self-examination and only then receive the Body of the Lord after necessary conversion (1 Cor 11:28)."

Prendergast has no dislike for politicians, in fact just the opposite. "I deeply admire politicians for their desire to serve the public good and to make the many sacrifices necessary to win public office and to give themselves to public service," he says, adding, "They ought to be motivated by a concern for justice, good order, the public good, etc."

He notes however that "One of the greatest areas for effecting justice is the support of life in the womb and through all stages of life.  Abortion goes against the Church's understanding, based on the teaching of Jesus, on the inviolability of innocent human life - including the unborn - and of the obligation of public servants to protect the weakest in society.  It is hard to see how the support of abortion is not a very grave evil."

The decision to take "medicinal" remedies, says the Archbishop, is not taken lightly, and is simply an attempt at direct intervention with the politicians.  "Perhaps politicians embrace the support of a woman's right to choose unthinkingly, following party policy; this is where the church with the help of its pastors and through fellow believers needs to come to the assistance of those who serve the public good," he said.    

"It may take time to work with political figures before one can conclude that they are obstinately persisting in manifest grave sin and that, therefore, denial of communion or of encouraging them not to present themselves for communion is reached as the medicinal remedy to draw them back to the way of Christ, Our Lord, the Way, the Truth and the Life."

One other consideration in addressing seriously such grave violations of Church teaching is scandal.  "If one were to allow Catholic political (or other public) figures to freely espouse abortion without drawing to their attention that this is a grave evil," explained Archbishop Prendergast, "other believers might be tended to accept this, not knowing any better and be led on the wrong path: that is what 'scandal' is.  One must do everything possible to prevent others from falling away from the path of Christ - i.e. from being scandalized."

See related LifeSiteNews articles:

Pope Supports Excommunication for Pro-Abortion Politicians - "Incompatible with Receiving Communion"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/may/07050901.html

Second U.S. Bishop Says Vatican Letter on Pro-Abort Politicians Withheld from Bishops
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/aug/04080603.html

Cardinal McCarrick Continues to Conceal Rome's Insistence that Pro-Abort Politicians Be Denied Communion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/oct/06102310.html

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Heaven’s Personal Protection Packet . . .
Our Lady tells us to be protected from all evil, we must wear the following sacramentals around our necks: a Rosary, a crucifix, the St. Benedict medal, Our Lady of the Roses medal, the Miraculous Medal, and the scapular. We have all of these sacramentals in a packet we call "Heaven's Personal Protection Packet." This packet is available for a donation of $5.00 plus $3.00 shipping and handling. Send $8.00 to TLD Ministries, P.O. Box 40, Lowell, MI 49331. Item # P5  (Order Form)

    Our Lady of the Roses, Mary Help of Mothers promises to help protect our children. On September 13, 1977, She said, "He has an army of ogres wandering now throughout your country and all of the countries of the world. They are in possession of great power; so wear your sacramentals, and protect your children and your households. Learn the use every day of holy water throughout your household. Insist even with obstructions, insist that your children always wear a sacramental. One day they will understand that they will repel the demons."
    On February 1, 1974, Our Lady said, "My children, know the value of these sacramentals. Guard your children well. You must awaken to the knowledge that you will not be protected without the sacramentals. Guard your children's souls. They must be surrounded with an aura of purity. Remove them if necessary from the sources of contamination, be it your schools or even false pastors."
    This Heaven’s Personal Protection Packet is available for a donation of $5.00 plus $3.00 shipping and handling. Send $8.00 to TLD Ministries, P.O. Box 40, Lowell, MI 49331. You may use your MasterCard, VISA, or American Express and call 1-616-698-6448.  Item # P5 (Order Form)